Many of us spend a great deal of time in our car, especially if you use it to commute to work, ferry the family around for school activities and shopping expeditions, or just enjoy taking it out for a relaxing spin around town or country. We even have a tendency to grow quite attached to the thing, giving it pet names and pampering it with regular car washes. Our natural tendency is to keep the outside looking sharp, because of the “you are what you drive” concept, but a car is a complicated machine, and equal, or even greater care must be taken to keep the insides running smoothly.
We fondly remember the days spent visiting the car dealerships during our search for just the right one, and that great feeling we had when we finally chose it and drove it home, waking up the next morning to find it sitting in the drive in all its fresh new glory. Maybe some of that romance wears off after the daily grind of driving it to and fro on our continuing mission to satisfy life’s necessities, but we still maintain a quiet fondness for this thing that saves us so much walking. So, what can we do to keep it running smoothly and safely for years to come? Here is a brief list of some of the most commonly neglected maintenance issues:
Change the oil – The common wisdom is to change the oil every 5,000 miles or do it in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Sometimes we get busy and tend to forget about this important task, or put it off, which can turn out to be a costly mistake. Oil is to a car what water is to us, try not drinking it for a few days and see what happens! Stay ahead of this and save your car’s life as well as yourself a lot of money, or you will end up car shopping again before you quite intended to.
Rotate the tyres – Rolling down the road puts a lot of wear and tear on tyres, and they feel every bump in the road a lot harder than you do up there in the wheelhouse! This simple service takes just about an hour to perform and will extend the life of your tyres by years, again saving you a lot of money.
Keep the battery clean – Battery corrosion generally looks like a bluish or white powder forming on your car’s battery terminals. If this is left unattended for too long the battery might develop a crack or simply cease to function, usually at the most inconvenient time possible. New quality car batteries can be quite expensive, so it’s best to check them at least twice a year, and yes, doing so can save you a lot of money!
It’s a great idea to have your car undergo a yearly professional maintenance check-up, here is some helpful info on that subject from the Australian government. Happy Driving!
